Subic Beach Bodies, the most prestigious bikini championship in town is now on its 7th year. I’ve always been eager to watch it since the pilot show but didn’t know reasons good enough to convince my parents to let me go. First, my folks are rather conservative and second, it’s usually held on a Saturday night and lasts until past midnight hence is a no-no for a churchgoer on Sunday morns.
Few days after seeing a poster for the screenings, my officemate and I bumped into Gigz, the organizer who pioneered the event. I half-jokingly asked for complimentary tickets and to see the outcome of the photoshoot. What he said surprised us: that complimentary tickets are no problem but we could get involved if we want to. So that’s where my volunteer work started. I was tasked to produce the tickets which, despite being instructed to keep simple, I still tried to make it look worth its price. Of course I wouldn’t let my tickets look the worst sold in 7 years of the event! 700 commercial and 200 complimentary tickets were produced – I was hands-on from design to printing and purchase of paper to cutting accounting to 90% of the labor.
Making the slideshow involved sleeping late and waking up before dusk for few days. The draft printout of the slides immediately got the thumbs up of the members of the production. Even the photographer in charge of the pictorials at the yacht club whom I just got acquainted with for the event was impressed with the design and the choice of photos. Four slideshows were made: the females, males, sponsors credits and event banner
The finals were held on a stormy night hence the sudden need to transfer the venue from the beach front to the theater-type arts center. From the original lineup of 24 pairs, only 14 females and 19 males competed in the finals. Many were not yet onboard during the pictorials while several who where in earlier later withdrew from the competition.
My first personal encounter with the candidates was during the pre-finals of the ladies held 2 weeks earlier than the guys’ which was held a day before the grand night. I also judged the males during the pre-pageant. I did have my own all-time favorites while there were some who just impressed me in a particular category. Generally, the candidates are more gorgeous in person than in photos but most of them are short with only two or three of the same height as mine considered to be the tall ones in the group.
I had also learned and witnessed several crises of the event such as withdrawn sponsorships and conflicts among organizers, talent handlers and the models themselves. I very much wanted to investigate the backstage happenings but I had to man the laptop to make sure that the credits roll during breaks.
I did have a generous share of freebies including two sponsored shirts, and an extra bikini exactly what the male candidates wore which for now could only serve as a motivation until it fits me gorgeously too. However, what is most rewarding is the chance to meet new people who are equally creative and kind – Ahl, Jomar, Lloyd, Donny, Benson, and the others – and the compliments I received for a job well done.
More photos from gallery of Boris Torneros, professional and official photographer
Females - Denim
Males - Denim
Females - Choice Swimwear
Males - Choice Swimwear
Females - Finals
Males - Finals
Awarding
(This is what kept me occupied during the few weeks of May that I haven’t posted in this blog)
